Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) has announced the the firm’s wholly-owned international subsidiary, Tyvak International s.r.l., has been selected as a prime contractor under a $4.7 million (€4.5 million) contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) for a proximity operations and on-orbit servicing mission that will deploy a nanosatellite spacecraft from Space Rider, the European, uncrewed, robotic laboratory.
The deployed smallsat will perform proximity operations maneuvers around Space Rider, demonstrating unprecedented on-orbit servicing capabilities. Space Rider will allow technology demonstration, and benefit research in pharmaceutics, biomedicine, biology, and physical science.
At the end of its mission, Space Rider will return to Earth with its payloads and land on a runway to be unloaded and refurbished for another flight. Tyvak International develops the nanosatellite to be onboarded and deployed at any time during the experimental Phase in orbit, on one of the ESA’s Space Rider flight missions, paving the way for future, recurring, servicing missions.
This contract is in partnership with a consortium of Italian industries and research institutions, including Polytechnic University of Turin, the University of Padova, and StellarProject SRL.
“Terran Orbital is honored to be selected once again for a prime contract with the European Space Agency. Using space technology for research in areas, such as proximity operations and in-orbit servicing, will be a huge benefit for our partners and the protection of precious and strategic orbital assets. I am excited to see Tyvak International s.r.l. in the forefront.” — Marc Bell, Terran Orbital Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer